"Gold prices have rebounded quite strongly today, but the
fact is that gold stocks have been lagging the rise in gold
prices for months now," said Elvis Picardo, an analyst and
strategist at Global Securities in Vancouver.

"Gold stocks are certainly benefiting from renewed interest
in some of the undervalued names."

Oil prices also rose, bouncing back from earlier losses,
helped by a broad rise in commodities. The Reuters-Jefferies
CRB index .CRB, a global benchmark that tracks a basket of 19
commodities, ended up 0.67 percent.

Seven of the index's 10 main groups were higher. The
mining-heavy materials sector and the energy sector, which
together make up nearly half of the index, were up 0.23 percent
and 0.64 percent respectively.

The heavyweight financials sector ended down 0.1 percent.

Bank of Nova Scotia BNS.TO ended down 0.1 percent at
C$58.49, and Bank of Montreal BMO.TO lost 0.05 percent to
C$62.17.

Bruce Latimer, a trader at Dundee Securities, said that
trading was largely directionless ahead of a long weekend in
Canada.

He said financial stocks would likely see more action next
week when the country's big banks start to report their
quarterly results.

In individual company news, Air Canada's ACb.TO 3,800
customer service and sales agents authorized strike action if
necessary to back their bargaining position in contract talks.
Air Canada's stock still managed to gain 5 Canadian cents to
C$2.40, however. [ID:nN20226206]

($1=$0.97 Canadian)
(Reporting by John McCrank; editing by Peter Galloway)